Safe.



No. 895,581. I PATBNTED AUG. 11, 1908.

l 1. W. NYGRBEN.

SAFE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. e, 1907,

SHEETS-SHEET 2.

THEODORE W. NYGREEN, OF BELLINGIIAM, WASHINGTON.

SAFE

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 11, 1908.

Application filed November 6, 1907. Serial No. 401,025.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THEODORE W. NY- GREEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bellingham, in the county of Whatcom and State of Washington, have invented a new and useful Safe, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in safes, and its object is to provide a safe of globular type similar to the safe shown and described in my application No. 395,258,1i1edsept. 3o, 1907.

The present invention relates not only to the structure of the safe body, that is the protecting walls of the safe, but also relates to the interior construction, that is, to the com artments, and the drawers, or receptacles or containing various articles which it is desired to place in the safe.

In order that the interior of the globular safe may be fully utilized, especially where the door is made to open inwardly, the interior compartments are made in three divisions of which the central division is of such size as to readily receive the door when unlocked, in which latter condition it is entirely disconnected from the body of the safe, and may, if desired, be entirely removed from the safe. Normally, however, the door is moved into, so as to be housed within, the central compartment when the latter may be turned upon a central axis so as to bring certain portions of its periphery opposite the opening in the safe walls from which the door has been removed, and then drawers or shelves, or other receptacles, are accessible. Above and below the central compartment are other compartments conforming in shape to the globular' shape of the safe, and these upper and lower compartments are also rotatable upon an axis, which axis, considering the central compartment to lie in a horizontal plane, is a vertical aXis.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detail description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification, in which drawings,

Figure 1 is a horizontal section through the safe. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section through the safe. Fig. 3 is a face view of one form of door which may be used. Fig. 4 is a vertical central section through the safe, showing one hase of operation. Fig. 5 is a plan View of t 1e lower compartment. Fig. 6 is a side view of the upper compartment showing one of the receptacles opened. Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of the upper compartment. Figs. S, 9 and 10 are detail views, Fig. 9 showing another type of door than that shown in Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a spherical body composed of an outer steel sphere l of suitable thickness interior to which, but spaced therefrom, is another steel sphere 2 of less thickness, and interior to but spaced from the last named sphere is' a third sphere 3 constituting the' inner Wall of the safe. These several spheres are concentric one with the other, and between the spheres l and 2 there is a filling 4 of cement or other refractory material, which is likewise heat insulating, and between the spheres 2 and 3 is another layer 5 of such material. The sphere is thus made up of three steel spheres of progressively smaller diameter with the spaces between them filled in with cement or similar material. For structural reasons, this sphere is made up of two halves secured together by bolts 6.

While a spherical safe may be rolled about in any direction, which facilitates its re- Amoval from dangerous locations, and also facilitates transportation, 'still when the safe is set up for practical use, it is designed to occu py a certain position in which certain delinite diametric points will constitutethe top and bottom points of the safe, the latter being mounted on a suitable cup-shaped pedestal. for use, there isprovided midway of its height an opening 7 into which is fitted a doorS built up similar to the body of the safe. rlhe opening may be round, in which case the door also will be round, as indicated in Fig. 9, or the opening may be oval, in which case the door will also be oval, as indicated in Fig. 3. Since an oval door may be readily removed through an oval opening, as of course will be readily understood, the oval door is the preferable form. The opening 7 is of less width at the front than at the back, and the door is therefore made in the form of a somewhat tapered plug fitting the opening New, considering the safe as set up.

'inside of the body of the safe.

and entering the same from the inside of the safe. For this reason, it is advisable to make the door of oval shape for easy removal for repairs rather than using a round door which may necessitate the dismantling of the safe body in order to remove the door should repairs be necessary.

The locking mechanism for the door forms no part of the present invention, and so in the drawings the locking mechanisms are indicated diagrammatically only at 9 and 10, and the handle for throwing the bolts is likewise indicated at 11. The accessible portions of the locking mechanism and of the handle are countersunk in the door, and the cover plate 12 is provided over which is applied a circular screw plate 13 having diametrically opposite recesses 14 for the application of a suitable wrench.

Fast to the back of the door are brackets 15, 15, each of which terminates in two rollers 16, 16 spaced apart with another roller 17 at a short distance from the two rollers 16. The rollers on the brackets 15 travel on an inverted tee track 18 suitably secured in the There are two brackets' 15 arranged in tandem on each sideof the door, and there are two tracks 18 for the rollers 16 and 17 to run upon. The rollers 16 over-run the tee flange of the track on each side of the web thereof, while the rollers 17 under-run the tee portion of the track, thus holding the door to the track and facilitating its travel therealong. Considering the safe as in the position shown in Fig. 2, the tracks extend horizontally above the upper limit of the door opening and the brackets and rollers sustain the door when moved into the safe body, as indicated in dotted lines.

Within the body of the safe are three distinct compartments, a central compartment- 19, an upper compartment 20, and a lower compartment 21. The central compartment 19 is substantially cylindrical and is in height about the diameter of the door opening. This compartment is provided with a radial recess 22 of sufficient size to receive the door, and open at the top to permit the passage of the brackets 15 to the tracks 18, and this recess extends somewhat beyond the axis of the cylinder toward the side remote from the open end of the recess, which open end is normally coincident with the door opening.

Between the walls of the recess 22 and the peripheral wall of the cylinder 19 there remains considerable space, and this is occupied by a number of removable receptacles in the form of drawers 23 forming a radial series about the curved base of the recess 22, while along the sides of the recess 22, the space between the walls of the said recess and the periphery of the cylinder may be unsupplied with drawers and be utilized simply as receptacles for the storage of more or less bulky articles. These spaces are indicated at 24,

The compartment 20 located above the compartment 19 is substantially in the shape of a segment of a sphere. This compartment is provided with a central receptacle in the form of a cylindrical space 25, while exterior to this space are a series of receptacles in the form of segmental boxes 26 substantially triangular in section with their faces curved to conform to the curvature of the exterior wall of the compartment 20. The major portion of these'receptacles or boxes 26 are hinged at their inner angles, as shown at 27, so that they may be moved downward about said hinges until the curved face is exposed, and this curved face has a section 28 hinged to the main portion thereof and constituting a lid or door for the respective box 26. In order to prevent the accidental displacement of the boxes 26, they may be provided with suitable catches, (not shown).

When the compartment 19 is in its normal position, the door may be unlocked and then it may be moved into the recess 22. Under these conditions, one or more of the boxes 26 is accessible and its contents may be reached when the box is dropped, as indicated in Fig. 6, through the door opening, and by means of the recess 22. Vhen access to other boxes 26 is desired, then the compartment 2O is turned on its vertical axis until the desired box is coincident with the recess 22. Now, in order that the space 25 may be reached, certain of the boxes 26 are not hinged to the compartment 20 but are made bodily removable therefrom, when the space 25 may be reached through the space left by the removal of one or more of the boxes 26. The space 25 is designed more particularly for the reception of articles placed there for safe keeping, but which are not often needed, and, because of the comparative inaccessibility of this space, it becomes in a measure a secret receptacle. The lower compartment 21 may be partitioned 0H, as indicated in Fig. 5, into a number of receptacles 29, and for these receptacles the compartment 19 may serve as a cover.

As indicated in Fig. 4, the drawers 23 of the compartment 197g may be arranged in several tiers. The several compartments may be introduced into the interior of the safe through the door opening after the body of the safe has been assembled. For this purpose the compartments may be ,made up of a sufficient number of parts to be secured together after these parts have been introduced into the interior of the safe. In order to facilitate the rotation of the several compartments about the common axis they may be supported upon tracks fast on the inner wall of the safe or may be supported fold back onto the body of the handle when the plate 12 is applied.

It will be understood, of course, that the locking structure indicated in my aforesaid application may be applied to the door structure of this application, but it will not be necessary to s ow it, since it forms no part -of the present invention.

It is to be understood that the various receptacles in the different compartments may be of different sizes for different purposes, and, while in the drawings the compartment 19 is shown with a number of drawers 23 all fitting the opening from the interior of the safe, and means for supporting said door whereby the same is adapted to be moved bodily away 'from the door opening'v into the interior ofthe safe, said door being adapted to be moved bodily from the safe and through said door opening when detached from said supporting means.

2. In a Safe, a door adapted to be moved bodily away from the door opening toward the interior of the safe, and tracks on the interior of the safe upon which said door moves.

3. A safe having a door adapted to be moved toward the interior of the safe away from the door opening, tracks on the interior of the safe, and roller supports on the door engaging said tracks and movable along the same.

4. A spherical salie having a cylindrical central compartment, and end compartments in the form of segments of spheres, the several compartments being rotatable about a common axis within the safe.

5. A safe having a door opening, a door, means for supporting said door whereby the same is adapted to be moved bodily into the interior of the safe, and a compartment rotatable about the door when the said door is moved into said safe, said compartment having receptacles exterior to that portion housing the safe door.

6. A spherical safe having a door opening, a door, means for supporting said door whereby the same is adapted to be moved bodily toward its center, and a compartment provided with a recess for receiving the door and rotatable about an axis cutting the center ofthe safe.

7. A spherical sale having a door opening,

-a door, means for supporting` said door whereby the same is adapted to be moved bodily toward its center, a compartment pro vided with a recess for receiving the door and rotatable about an axis cutting the center of the safe, and provided with receptacles exterior to the recess and opening peripherally with relation to the compartment.

8. A spherical safe having a door opening, a door, means for supporting said door whereby the same is adapted to be moved bodily toward its center, a cylindrical compartment provided with a recess for receiving the door and rotatable about an axis cutting the center of the sale, and a series of radially disposed receptacles removably car' ried by said cylindrical compartment exterior to the door receiving recess.

9. A spherical safe havingl an interior compartment provided with drop hinged receptacles each provided with a hinged door and adapted to be normally housed within the compartment.

l0. A spherical salie having a compartment in the form of the segment of a sphere, said compartment having an annular series of receptacles.

11. A spherical sale having a compartment in the 'form of the segment of a sphere, said compartment having a central space and an annular series ol receptacles movableV outwardly from the lower face of saidcompartment with one or more ol the receptacles removable bodily from the compartment to permit access to the central space.

12. A spherical safe having a door opening, a door, means vfor supporting said door whereby the same is adapted to be moved radially inward, a rotatable compartment receiving the same, and another rotatable compartment having spaces for receiving articles and for which the first-named compartment operates as a cover.

13. A spherical safe provided with a central rotatable cylindrical compartment having receptacles removable peripherally from said compartment, an end compartment in the form of a segment of a sphere and provided with article receiving spaces, and another end compartment in the form of a segment of a sphere, said last-named compartment being provided with a central space and with an annular series of receptacles, one or more of which are bodily removable to give access to the central space and the others of which are hinged to said compartment.

14. A spherical safe having a door with its outer 'face Hush with the face of the safe, a In testimony that I Claim the foregoing as look mechanism having its manipulating pormy own, I have hereto aixecl my signature tions countersunk into the face of the door, in the presence of two Witnesses.

a. covering plate for said manipulating por- TI-IEODORE WV. NYGREE. 5 tions of the look, and a so'reW plate entering /Vitnesses:

the :face of the door until flush With the same G. l/V. NOSTRAND,

and securing the cover plate in place. J. I. MCCRAOKEN. 

